L'Accademia Ombrello
by thescriptwelder
Summary: Five messed up, and that ends up not being an entirely bad thing. In the end, Ben is alive, they end up healing, having fun, fucking with people, having serious talks, and Vanya has purple fire...wait, what?
1. Chapter 1

Klaus Hargreeves, the Seance, Number Four is so very confused.

One moment he's clutching his siblings and saving the world (because _apparently_ they're un-disbanded), because his thirteen-year-old brother who's _actually_ fifty-something and born on the same day as him and Klaus is, what? Thirty? (It's hard to tell when you're busy getting high, like, all the time).

Oh, and his _dead ghost brother_ who he could see while he was dead (because Klaus can see _dead people_ because his family it _so_ fucked up, like, you don't even know) Is now not dead.

Hell, he's a little kid now! Ben's a little kid.

And he's supposed to be travelling into the past, and from whatever the fuck Five said, he's supposed to take the place that a past self had been before, or something (he doesn't really know).

He's never been to Italy, dammit!

Like, what the actual fuck?

On another note, he could be in Spain.

Klaus slaps himself; who the fuck cares where he is?

"Where the hell are we?"

_Ben_, apparently.

Klaus shivers, a sudden desire to get high as _fuck_ hitting him. Granted, his tiny little pubescent body does help- it's all in his head now, because his body wasn't hooked on anything when he was this age.

"I-I don't fucking know!" Klaus cries, his voice becoming higher pitched in his distress. "I took German, not whatever the fuck that is!" He gestures vaguely to a couple speaking to each other.

Ben sighs. "Whatever. I'd bet Italy- somewhere in Europe, at least."

"Nice, that's great, narrowed it down to a _fucking continent_! _Progress_, am I right?" Klaus quips sarcastically, before immediately regretting it. It wasn't Ben's fault Five fucked up. Klaus shouldn't jump Ben because of it. Five, on the other hand…

Ben glares at Klaus. "Well, it's better than saying that we're inside a damp, dark warehouse in the middle of who-knows-where, held by foreigners who speak who-knows-what, because of who-knows-why!" Ben snaps, before sighing. "Anyways, when are the others going to wake up?"

Klaus blinks. Right, his other siblings were there. Bleck. An idea strikes him as he views the unpleasant image that is reality.

They're in a warehouse, two guards at the only exit, who knows how many outside. All windows are boarded. He and Ben are the only ones awake. Five might also be awake, it's hard to tell.

They aren't in a cell, these guys just put them smack dab in the middle of a room. Tied on wood chairs. With rope. Oh, boy, if only Luther was up.

Klaus begins rocking his chair back and forth, making sure it's not enough to knock himself over, but enough to make an obnoxious creaking sound with every motion.

"_Che diavolo stai cercando di tirare, ragazzo!?_" One of the guards spat, approaching Klaus.

"What the hell are you doing, Klaus!" Ben hisses at him. Klaus resists a grin.

"Something stupid," Klaus responds easily. _Oh shit, I hope Five's awake_, he thinks, _Otherwise, I'm in for a world of pain._

The guard bends down to Klaus level, and Klaus immediately slams his head onto the douchebag's nose, knocking him out cold with the momentum of the chair.

"_Che diavolo_!?" the other guard exclaims, her face contorting into anger. "_Tu piccola merda-!_" A flash of blue, and she's on the ground.

Five grabs the gun and turns to Klaus. "What the _hell_ were you thinking!? That was risky and stupid, what if I hadn't been awake!?" he hisses, as he searches the guards and picks up a few knives, and guns. Five approaches them and cuts Ben's ropes first with a knife he stole, then Klaus's ropes.

The boy hands a knife to Ben easily, muttering about how he doubts Ben will really need a weapon. Five turns to Klaus and hesitates.

Klaus rolls his eyes and snatches a knife, twirling it easily. "I still know how to use a knife, dumbass. Do you know how many bets I've won with these stupid tricks?" he brags, accepting Ben's knife.

And he has, it's also helped him fend off a few muggers and other lowlifes in alleys when he was homeless, but he's not going to say that. He hides his knives, which he's named Geraldine and Griselda, in the soles of his uniform shoes.

Five scoffs, and moves on to Allison, shaking her awake. He frees her, and she rubs her rope-burned wrists, scowling.

"What happened?" she questions in the demanding tone which meant that if the answer wasn't to her satisfaction someone was going to get hurt.

"Five fucked up, so we're now in who-knows-where, at who-knows-when," Klaus snitches eloquently, before being cuffed graceless by Five.

"More accurately, we're in what I think is an alternate dimension, in Italy, we were captured by someone- not sure why, Klaus did something stupid and got lucky, and everyone needs to wake up before people catch on," Five explains, as he ruthlessly shakes Diego. "I think we should go by our numbers. Whoever they are, and whatever they're doing, it sure as hell isn't legal."

When Diego wakes up, he attempts to headbutt Five, but the boy easily backs away before Diego could.

"What the fuck?" Diego blurts intelligently once he's out of his sleep-induced haze.

Allison wrinkles her nose before explaining everything to Diego. Diego arms up with a bunch of knives, complaining that they weren't balanced properly. Allison just grabs a gun and hides it in her uniform skirt.

She crosses her arms, cocking her hip aggressively at the boys' skeptical looks. "I know how to use a gun," she snaps. "Don't think you're the only ones who kept in shape."

Diego smirks, hands up. "Never said I did," he says, remembering the fight with Hazel and Cha-Cha.

Ben eyes Vanya and Luther's unconscious forms. "Why didn't you wake them up?" he asks, gesturing to the two, and suddenly he and Five have everyone's attention.

Five shrugs, gently shaking Vanya awake. Ben looks pointedly at Luther's lax figure.

"You really want me to wake him up?" Five says, and Ben glares. "Fine," he states as he stabs Luther's thigh.

"_WHAT THE HELL!_" Luther roars.

Vanya's startled out of the haze of sleepiness with a flinch. "Wh-What happened?" Vanya stammers, curling in on her self guiltily.

She remembers.

Allison softly explains the situation as the others tease Luther in the background.

"Um, a-about before…" Vanya whimpers pitifully, garnering her siblings' attention. "Th-The things I did...to Pogo. Mom. The world. I-I'm sorry. I lost control, and I-I was so angry! I-I'm so sorry. Pl-please don't k-k-k..."

Her family gazes at her in guilt, easily figuring out what she was going to say.

"We're siblings, Vanya," says Ben softly, "We wouldn't kill you. No matter what," he tells her earnestly, "And we won't _let anyone_ hurt you," he says pointedly, giving Luther a sharp look, also warily glancing Five and Diego.

Five sighs, exasperated. "We won't make another series of stupid mistakes leading to something like that. Although you did the deed, it was our fault; we lacked common sense and...empathy. You loaded the gun, but we pulled the trigger. I'm sorry, I won't let it happen again," Five tells her. "And, while we're at it, I should've included the group. I should've used the team. I can't do everything on my own-I sure as hell couldn't stop the apocalypse on my own," he says to the family.

Diego looks down. "I-I should've seen something like that coming. I should've known not to follow Luther, but I was..." He hesitates. "...consumed by Eu-Eudora's death, and revenge. I-I'll stands by you, from now on," Diego promises with unwavering determination in his eyes.

"I was being an idiot, drowning myself in drugs, alcohol, and hot-dogs while the world was busy ending," Klaus says, and everyone blinks, not expecting Klaus to apologize- not really blaming him in the first place. "I should've been attentive, and even though I started pulling myself together near the end, I should've gotten my act together earlier. I should've been there for you when we locked you up- I know what it's like to be trapped." Klaus shudders, eyes flashing with something his siblings other than Ben hadn't seen before. "I'm sorry," Klaus apologizes.

There was an empty silence as almost everyone feels a weight off their shoulders. The siblings turn to look at Luther expectantly.

"I..." Luther starts, before sighing. "I fucked up, bad. I mean, there's a big list. I made everything about me and the damn moon, I blamed you guys for dad's death, I tried to be the leader...when it clearly shouldn't have been me.

"I choked Vanya, I locked her up, hell, while everyone else was doing stuff, I got high and got l-laid." Luther laughs wryly. "...I'm just like him, aren't I?"

Diego blinks. He looks contemplative for a moment, before speaking. "I think you were, but...well, second chances right?"

"Yeah," Allison agrees steadfastly, "It's never too late to be better." She pauses, before smiling softly. "And, I think that goes for all of us."

The group couldn't help the smiles growing on their faces, and a warm feeling in their chest.

"Wait, isn't anyone gonna make a big deal about Ben being not dead?" Klaus blurts.

"No," Vanya says.

"Ahem," Five coughs pointedly. "I think that if we're done, we should go. We've stayed far too long."

Luther winces as he moves, pointedly ignoring Five's smug look.

The siblings agree and promptly leave.

* * *

They were hiking up a dirt trail when the clouds darkened and water fell from the skies.

"Hm. Just our luck," Five huffs, annoyed.

Luther scoffs. "Yeah. So, what's the plan?"

Klaus blinks. "Oh, so now you ask us?" he quips. This was the first time Luther had asked the team for help, rather than asserting his own plan in a show of dominance.

Ben slaps Klaus's head. "At least he's trying. It's proof of change, isn't it?" he says strongly.

"Ben's right, guess," Allison agrees. "You don't have to forgive him, but lay off and let him prove himself."

Diego frowns but stays silent. That's the best they'd get from him.

"I say we figure out where the hell we are. And what year it is," says Five. "Try to get a good layout of what we've got."

"Should we split up?" asks Diego.

"No," Luther says, "I don't think so. Last time, we were always splitting up, we had no idea where the hell anyone was and what they were doing. This isn't our territory." Luther hesitates momentarily. "But, it's not my call."

"Luther, shut up, you're right," Klaus blurts suddenly. "We dunno shit. And, I dunno 'bout you guys, but I have a shitty sense of direction." He clasps Ben's shoulder. "Benny here used to guide my sorry ass wherever."

Ben nods vehemently, not ready to part from his brother.

"Mm, it'll be slower than it would be if we split up, but considering the circumstances and what just happened, I don't think we can afford to be too far apart." He glances at Ben. "I don't think we really want to be separated, anyways."

"So, it's settled, then!" Allison claps her hands together. "Everyone agrees? Vanya? Diego?"

"Y-Yeah," stammers Vanya, not used to being included.

"Sure," Diego agrees easily.

The group walks in familiar line formation. Normally, Luther would be in front, with Diego to his left, just slightly behind him. Allison would be just behind Luther, and Klaus would have the same positioning, except being behind Diego. Five would be behind Allison, and Ben would be parallel to him. At the time, Vanya would be practising her violin at the house with Mom or observing alongside Sir Reginald Hargreaves. The higher numbers were always slightly behind their predecessors, so they would "remember their place," as Reginald would put it.

Except, this was different: This time, Five was leading the group. Allison and Vanya were walking behind him, with Ben and Klaus behind the girls. Luther and Diego were bringing up the rear.

If only Five was an adult. Then, the Academy would look like children on a field trip.

Vanya was making herself take as little space possible. Allison frowned.

"It really isn't your fault," Allison tells her sympathetically. "You didn't purposely do anything inherently wrong. You made one mistake- losing control when I visited you. And you tried to own up to it. Luther choked you and locked you up, and we let him. We've been hurting you, for nearly your whole life. Whether we meant it, or not."

"I-I know," Vanya admits, "But, it was still me!" She insists emotionally, slowly increasing volume. "It was me who caused the apocalypse. I did that. I tried to kill you- I tried to kill everyone. It was still me who killed Pogo, and it was me who killed Mom! Whether I meant it," Vanya repeats Allison's words quietly, "or not."

"No," Five says abruptly, inserting himself into the conversation. "It wasn't. Look, I came back to stop the apocalypse. It still happened. Wanna know why? Because I was a dick to my sister, and I let others hurt you. Look, apocalypse or not, Mount Vanya was due for an eruption," Five tells her.

"I-I..."

"Look, if you still blame yourself, look at it this way; if you blame yourself if you think you did it, then you get to live with it, and we get to live with the fact that our li- our sister hates herself because of us. If you don't blame yourself, great. That's great because nobody else will. There's nobody else on Earth who knows what happened, except us. And we don't blame you." Five sighs. "That's all."

"He's right, Vanya," Allison agrees softly. "You can't blame yourself about hurting us without hurting us, so why bother?"

"But it's not just about you guys!" Vanya blurts passionately. "Look, sure. Maybe I was going to explode no matter what! B-But, I still tried to cause the- the apocalypse! No matter how mad I was, I should never ha-have brought the rest of mankind into it! I shouldn't have killed Mom and Pogo! It doesn't matter if I was pushed to it, I killed the only two people who were always kind to me, who didn't betray me!" Vanya rants emotionally. "It doesn't matter, because no matter what, I'm still a murderer," she seethes lowly.

There was silence as the three slowly realize that they stopped walking.

The ex-heroes realize that Vanya had never killed before. The rest of the Hargreeves were used to it. Klaus was constantly surrounded by death, Allison had rumoured people into suicide, Ben and Luther did what they had to on missions, and it had become second nature to Five and Diego; just another part of their jobs.

But Vanya, she had always been pure, innocent, naive. It was why, as children, Allison enjoyed manipulating her, Five liked her company, Ben was nice to her, Klaus and Luther avoided her, and Diego both loved her and scorned her because of it. Vanya was normal, just a civilian. She had never killed anyone before.

She wasn't supposed to kill anyone.

They were supposed to protect her from that.

The siblings knew at once.

This was on them.

Slowly, Diego approaches Vanya. He falters momentarily before speaking. "I-If you're a murderer," he begins softly, "what does that make us?" A moment of silence passes before Diego pulls her into a hug.

"Aw, man," Klaus whines weakly and fidgets as if resisting something before shrugging. "Dammit, I can't help it," he says, before joining the hug. "C'mon, guys, bring it in."

Ben smiles approvingly, joining. Allison lets out a giggle before unabashedly joining.

A grateful sob is released from Vanya at the warmth of family engulfing her. She felt something...new. Like she found a missing part of herself. Like she was whole again.

"Aw, sis, it's okay," Klaus giggles comfortingly. "This is awesome."

"Hey, Five, don't be an old grump- join us!" Allison encourages teasingly.

Diego snorts.

Five scoffs and stands awkwardly. He pauses before hesitatingly approaching the group. Just as it seems like he's going to join, he pulls away. "Yeah, no."

Allison rolls her eyes and drags him in forcibly.

Nobody comments about the fact that he could've easily teleported away, or physically stopped her if he really wanted to.

"Luther, you gonna leave us hanging?" asks Ben lightly

Luther falters. "I-uh, I thou-"

"Shut up, and join, dipshit," quips Diego, somewhat insensitively.

Luther rolls his eyes and quickly joined.

"Dude, you do know that no matter what, you're still gonna have to join in on the group hugs, right?" Klaus sighs mockingly. "Jeez, you kids never learn."

"He's right, Luther," agrees Ben.

"...Yeah."

There was a comfortable silence as the now-children held each other. Five pulls away after a bit.

"I think we got a little sidetracked," he says, as close to sheepish as he could get.

The others ignored him.

* * *

_Yes! First story, guys! Honestly, I sort of lost control near the end. Originally, this was going to involve way more mafia stuff, but, oh well. Sibling bonding/fluff and hurt/comfort works too._

_SO, how was it? Anyone have any ideas? Constructive criticism, feedback is all heavily encouraged and appreciated! I'd love to improve my writing and this story, and I will never be able to do that without you guys!_

**Please, leave a review. I promise I will read, cherish, and consider every single one with care.**

_Thanks for reading, guys!_

Edit: Added and corrected some stuff.


	2. Chapter 2

After the hug-fest, and feelings-talk, the Academy didn't do much.

Five and Diego ended up finding a place to stay; an abandoned church. It was crumbling, and part of the roof wasn't there, but it was far enough from the town/city/whatever they had been in, and provided enough shelter. Five could easy space travel with a partner to go steal things and grocery shop, and even if without that, it wasn't too difficulty for most of the Academy (i.e, Luther and Diego, who were both easily the most in shape at thirteen) to just...walk.

Klaus, Ben, and Allison, who, while it had been a while, still remember how to fight and use weapons, began to teach Vanya the basics of close combat. Allison taught her flexibility, dodging, and redirection, among other things, Ben taught her where to hit, how to hit, and how hard to hit. Klaus was mainly just a good, challenging opponent for sparring, with his superior height and strength. It was also good to get Klaus back into things, because he'd never agree to spar anyone except Vanya, as he'd be too lazy and stubborn to be bothered, unless it was someone who actually needed help, like Vanya.

Five mostly just supervised Vanya's lessons, seeing as Klaus, Ben, and Allison, _were_ rusty, or made sure Diego and Luther didn't kill each other (their spars, nearly become fights, and their fights become deadly, thus every time they spar, someone almost gets killed). If he wasn't doing that, he was out in civilization, being the family's breadwinner, alongside Klaus, who had become incredibly good at pick-pocketing and thievery in his years of getting high. They also gathered information when they could, but they changed their priority from info to the basic needs.

Luther wasn't allowed to be with Vanya without supervision, a precaution set by Allison, Five, and Diego. Luther also wasn't allowed to go into the civilization, unless if Five was out of commission, and it was absolutely necessary. Diego also wasn't allowed to go out into civilization, due to his short temper, and his general conspicuous nature.

Vanya wasn't allowed to be without supervision, in case of, well, Luther. Klaus also _always_ had to be checked whenever he came back from a trip to town, in case he tried to sneak drugs or alcohol in. If he ever got caught, then he wouldn't be allowed into civilization for a month. Luckily, that hasn't happened yet.

"It's nineteen ninety-six," states Five, as he appears in a flash of blue alongside Klaus. They are in the church's gym, the cleanest room in the building. The other siblings were there, too, awaiting their dinner.

"Also, Vanya has purple fire," pants Klaus, who is on the floor next to Five. "Daamn, I'm never gonna get used to that, Five!" he exclaims.

"What?" Five has throws Klaus a strange look. "What the hell do you mean Vanya has purple fire?"

"Heh, funny story...you guys remember that one time I was kinda captured and maybe tortured by two masked lunatics..?" asked Klaus, trailing off.

"Yeah, nobody noticed you were gone," Ben says sharply. The others, except Vanya (who was somewhat confused/concerned), winced.

Diego flares up. "What happened, Klaus?"

Klaus laughs nervously. "Uh, yeah, so, maybe, one time we went out and I kinda of got jumped-"

"Why the hell didn't you tell me?" Five snaps. "What were you thinking!"

"Y-You know you can trust us, Klaus," Vanya says softly.

"I-I know!" Klaus cries indignantly. "I know! But, those super mega awesome ninja skills we've been practising made me kick their asses- "

"Nice." Diego nods approvingly.

"- So, I did, uh, but they kinda, maybe...stabbed me. In the back." Klaus lifts his shirt, and there is a scar on his back, as he said.

"Wait, d-dude, that's y-your spinal co-cord," Diego stutters, "I-I studied th-these, y-you should be d-d-dead. I-I'd know." And Diego would, as a ranged knife user.

"H-Heh, yeah." Thank death for immortality, Klaus thinks, Although he didn't get a nice shave from daddy. "Anyways, I also kinda got set on fire. The weird thing was, the dudes recognized it. They were screaming '_fammy duh nebya_' or something."

"Again," Five says, "You should've told m- us, and what the _hell _were you thinking?!" Five says. "What would Delores say?" he murmurs.

Klaus ignores us, "So, I did a l'il old school digging, and _voila!_ With the power of finding the people who jumped me, being lucky enough to find an English speaker, and he explained _everything_!" he finishes cheerfully.

"And, once more," Five says, "What the _hell _were you thinking!? Scratch that, _were_ you thinking _at all_!?"

"How did you even get them to talk?" Diego asks incredulously.

Klaus grins deviously. "A trip down memory lane."

"The hell does that mean?"

"Doesn't matter!" Klaus sings. "What matters is that those were called Dying Will Flames. And I learnt a l'il about 'em. They're the colours of the rainbow, y'know, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, other purple-"

"Violet and indigo," Allison supplied.

"- And they're named after the weather. Red is Storm, orange is Sky, yellow is Sun, green is Lightning, blue is Rain, _violet _and _indigo_ are Cloud and Mist," Klaus explains. "Skies are the rarest. They are the leaders. They draw the other elements in so they can become a set. The elements the Sky surrounds himself with are called Guardians. They have this bond thing called Harmony, and it's supposed to be the best thing in the world, blah, blah, blah." Klaus rolled his eyes. "Skies are usually super nice, accepting, all that crap. Storms are angry, hot-tempered, loyal, and they usually want something- I bet you that's Diego."

Diego nods. "I can't tell if that's an insult or not."

"Makes sense," agrees Allison.

"Storms have Disintegration as their super power or whatever. They destroy things. Suns are super active. Whether that's their brain, or there body, they are active." Klaus pauses. "Sometimes they can even balance it. Their power is Activation; they can activate their cells to enhance their body, or they can heal, I think. Lightnings are ambitious. Super ambitious. They want something hard to achieve."

"That's gotta be Luther. He wanted daddy's approval," snipes Diego.

"Diego..." Luther growls before sighing. "Whatever."

"Make that _our_ approval, Diego," says Ben. "And lay off him."

"Lightning power is Hardening. They can turn things hard- hehe- and they can zap people." Klaus sniggers quietly to himself. "Anyways, rains are always reliable, and they're supposed to keep people calm; wash away the pain, or something. They're power is Tranquility, they can weaken people, slow 'em down, and make 'em go to sleep."

"Useful," comments Five.

"Mists are _super_ creative. The more creative they are, the more powerful. Their super power is Construction; they imagine it, it happens."

"Kind of like my power," admits Allison.

"Yep! I'm a Mist. Last, but not least, is the Cloud Flames; second most rarest Flame, ever. Clouds want freedom, they want the ability to be free, and make their own choices. Their power is Propagation. They're like Jesus with his bread. Their terrifying when their piss, you never piss off a Cloud."

"You think Vanya's a Cloud," Five realizes. "Why?"

"We pissed her off, she destroyed the world. She, no offence, Vanya, _slit_ Allison's throat when she found out she had no choice but to think she had no power, and when Allison tried to rumour her into calming down."

Vanya shifts uncomfortably. Allison notices and wraps her arm around Vanya. They share a smile.

"Thus, Vanya is a Cloud...uh, and her skin was a bit purple-is/blue-ish when she lost her shit."

"What?" Vanya blurts.

"Yeah. Dying Will Flames are awakened by near death experiences...I think, Luther nearly killed you when he locked you up," Klaus admits quickly.

"What!?" Luther yelps abruptly.

"I...I felt like I couldn't breathe in there..." Vanya pales in realization. "No way..." she whispers weakly. Allison's arm tightens around her.

The Umbrella Academy sat in silence as they processed that they nearly killed one of their own.

* * *

The Academy sat down together at lunch, another day. Lunch and dinner was one of the only times you'd see Five in a day. Other than that, he was out until nightfall "working".

"We can't go on like this," states Ben abruptly. He looks down when he notices he caught everyone's attention. "I mean, sure, we're doing fine, but is this what we're gonna do for the rest of our existence? Train, steal, eat, and talk?"

"Damn." Klaus sighs. "When you say it like that, it sounds a lot like our childhood."

"Ben's right," Five says. "We should..._enter the world._"

"Hm. Why does that sound so ominous?" questions Allison.

"Heheh...little Number Five wants to fuck with the Mafia World," Klaus realizes.

"I-I guess that makes sense," Vanya offers hesitantly. "I mean, I never wanted to be normal, and I don't think you guys would be able to just fade into a normal life."

"I don't think any of us could. We appeared out of nowhere," states Diego.

"I..." Luther winces. "I don't think we're ready to integrate ourselves into any world yet."

"Oh, right. And we should just line up behind you, huh? Number One?" Diego snears.

"Cool it, Diego," snaps Five.

"I think Luther's right," says Allison.

"Oh, of course you do," quips Diego harshly.

"Shut it, Diego. I'm not saying we'll _never_ get to it, just that we aren't ready yet," explains Allison. "I mean, Klaus is still having _cravings_ sometimes, Ben's still readjusting to _life_\- " she pauses. "Now's just...not a good time."

"She has a point," acknowledges Ben.

"Okay, fine," growls Diego, "Not now."

* * *

"Alright, Benny!" Klaus grins mischievously. "Are you ready for the world?" He and Five had woken Ben up early to take him with them on their day-long outing.

Five slaps Klaus on the back of the head. "This isn't a game, Klaus," he reprimands. He turns to Ben. "This might be a little nauseating. I'm not too used to group travel."

Klaus snorts. "Yeah, I still queasy when we travel."

Five rolls his eyes.

"Yeah, I'm ready," says Ben, amused with their antics. He was glad Five was getting more comfortable being part of the group, and that Klaus was getting the attention and care he needed and was starved of as a child. Honestly, now, they all were.

Five and Klaus were taking Ben to help adjust to being seen and alive. They planned on starting relatively small- a walk in the park. Then the suburbs. Slowly, they'd work up to buying things and ordering food. Then full blown crowds.

This wasn't just for Ben though. Five was going to work on playing nice, and Klaus was adjusting to crowds so he wouldn't get overwhelmed and be reminded of the ghosts that used to crowd him.

While the ghosts were still here in this new world, Klaus hadn't alerted them to his abilities, thus they do not seek his attention. But, it still frightens Klaus, being sober. Seeing all their mangled bodies. Sometimes, it's hard to tell if they're real or not.

* * *

Klaus can't breathe.

He can't.

His breaths come in quick and sharp gasps. His eyes tear up.

He can't _breathe_. He can't speak.

His knees wobble, and he crumbles to the ground.

"Klaus," Ben cries, and he forgets he's alive. He thinks it's like the first time Klaus actually got sober and went out. Klaus was twenty, he knew the drugs and alcohol weren't doing his health or sanity any favors. He'd forgotten what it was like to be sober.

So, he checked himself into one of those rehab places, got better. The ghosts were terrifying, but they weren't screaming at him, like the ones from his childhood. Not at first. Klaus went out to the mall, for celebratory cake or something. He and Ben were so happy, and proud. Five minutes in, he was crouching by a garbage can, and he couldn't breathe. Nobody noticed. Ben couldn't do anything for him.

Ben forgets he's alive. Forgets he can help Klaus.

He thinks Klaus is the only person who can see him. The only person he can talk to, literally.

Ben thinks he's going to lose Klaus.

Suddenly, Five is there, done with his quick trip to the restrooms. He sees Ben hazy-eyed and not all_ there_, and Klaus hyperventilating. Five swears under his breath, and grabs his brothers' wrists.

And then they're back at the church.

Vanya sees Klaus, recognizes a panic attack when she sees it, and begins coaching him on how to breathe. Allison pulls Ben into a hug, catching him spiralling, understanding that Klaus was the only person Ben always had.

Five just sits next to Klaus, saying nothing, his face carefully blank. Diego stairs at his siblings with concern, unsure of what he should be doing. Meanwhile, Luther stands awkwardly next to Diego. He feels like an outsider, looking in. He shouldn't be here. Luther turns to leave, but Diego grabs his shoulder.

Diego stares up at Luther with an unreadable expression on his face. "Luther, you fucked up. _Badly_. But, right now, leaving is worse."

So Luther stays.

* * *

_That was _way_ too hard to right. It also took longer than I expected. I was hoping to have this posted by Tuesday, but...well, better late than never._

**Please, leave a review. I promise that I will read, cherish, and consider _every single one_ with care.**

**_Question for the readers: _**_For this story, what TUA characters (the main seven) would you pair KHR characters with? I haven't quite decided _when_ this takes place yet, just that it's in KHR, so go wild._


	3. Chapter 3

_Hey guys!_

**Guest: **_I'm so happy that you reviewed the story! I think Ben x Reborn would interesting too! Although I'm going to wait until I get more feedback, I will definitely consider your idea!_

_Now, without further ado, here's the story..._

_(Also, when did Ben die?)_

**TRIGGER WARNING: CONTAINS ATTEMPTED SUICIDE/SELF-HARM.**

**THE SCENE IS IN ITALICS, SKIP IF YOU NEED** **TO.**

* * *

Klaus is dying, Ben thinks.

Klaus is dying, and all Ben can do is watch.

Of course, this isn't true, but Ben's too far gone to realize.

...

_Klaus is sixteen._

_So is Ben, of course._

_But Ben is dead._

_He...died._

_One moment, Ben was living, and then...he wasn't._

_Suddenly, he was where he died, and then he's at his funeral._

_He doesn't see himself, maybe there weren't even any remains, who knows. But he knows he died. Because of the memories...and because Mom just walked right through him._

_Mom's smile is...still there, but not as wide and vibrant. Just a small, upward tilt of her lips. Almost unnoticeable. Pogo has this solemn look on his face, the same face he had when Five disappeared. His father...is stoic. Unchanged. It's hard to tell if he cared or not. Probably not, if Ben was being honest._

_Vanya is sobbing. It catches his attention right after he observes the adults. Her sobs are...quiet. Why are they quiet? He can barely hear them. Her shoulders are shaking, she's trembling, but there's barely any sound. He wonders if she learned how to cry quietly. She'd always been lonely. Ben feels a slight pang of guilt._

_Luther is sitting ramrod straight. His face is carefully blank, stoic. His eyes are stony. He's tense. His and Allison's hands are entwined. Sitting next to Luther, Allison is trying to go for the same look as Luther, not quite getting it. She tries to keep a straight face, but her eyes keep tearing up. She's trembling slightly._

_Diego is fidgeting in his seat. Energy is trapped inside him. Ben can tell Diego is trying to stifle his feeling, his anger, his grief. Abruptly, he stands up, and his chair is knocked over._

_"Number Two! What are you doing?" demands Reginald, but Diego isn't having any of it._

_"Shut- J-Just, shut up!" Diego growls, spinning on his heel and leaving._

_There is silence._

_Klaus isn't there._

_"Shit," Ben swears, and immediately goes looking for his brother._

_Klaus would likely either be on the roof, his room, or one of the many bathrooms._

_Ben goes for Klaus's room first, soon realizing that Diego was going to the same place._

_"Fuck, Klaus, wh-where the hell did you go?" Ben hears Diego say. Ben doesn't know what Diego's thinking, and wonders if he's on the same train of thought as Ben._

_They find Klaus in his room, drinking booze straight from the bottle._

_"Shit, Klaus, this was what you were doing?"_

_"I know, weird right?" Klaus giggles, his body swaying. "I ran out of pills. This is all I had left."_

_"Jesus, this is typical for you," hisses Diego. "Your brother dies, get high. That's how it is for you. That's all you care about isn't it? Drugs and booze?" Diego growls. "I thought you were going to do something- something dangerous-"_

_"Whaat?" Klaus slurs. "You thought I'd kill myself or something?"_

_"GAH!" Diego groans in frustration. "Fuck you. You know, you aren't reliable. You're so- so useless! Why the hell did I even care!? You know what, sometimes I _wish_ you'd kill yourself."_

_Both Ben and Diego freeze. He did not just say that._

_Ben can see the moment Diego sags with guilt and regret. "Klaus, I-"_

_Klaus fakes a laugh. "Hehe, yeah," he sighs. "Get out."_

_"I-I-I'm sorry. I- I didn't mean that," stammers Diego._

_"No, no. I get it. Leave, Diego."_

_"Klaus-"_

_"Bye, Diego."_

_Diego leaves._

_Ben sighs, this is typical of Diego. Getting angry, blowing up, and regretting it._

_Then he sees it, Klaus glancing at him for a split second._

_Ben pauses._

_Klaus is Number Three. The Séance._

_He sees dead people._

_"K-Klaus, can you see me?" asks Ben._

_Klaus ignores him, dropping the bottle of alcohol. It crashes on the floor, shattering. Klaus takes a shard, setting it on his wrist-_

_"KLAUS, NO!"_

...

"Ben, are you okay?" asks Allison, touching his shoulder.

"I've seen that look before," says Diego lightly. "Where did you go?"

Ben looks down. "Where's Klaus?"

"He's fine," Allison reassures him. "He's with Five, cooling down."

"Can I see him?" asks Ben.

There's a moment of silence and hesitation before Vanya speaks up. "I-I don't think that's a good idea?"

"_Why?_"

Vanya sighs. "You've been his conscious for a long time. His rock. I don't think it's a great idea for him to see you like this until he's calmed down and recovered from that."

"Wh-wh..." Ben stutters. "What _was_ that? I...I know he's had a few before, but..."

"A panic attack," Vanya replies simply. "Something triggered it. I think it was the crowds."

For a little while, they sit in silence.

"My funeral," Ben states abruptly.

"What?" blurts Diego.

"You asked where I went...That's where I went."

"Your funeral..?" says Allison slowly. "Is that...a bad memory?"

"Do you know what happened?" questions Ben. "I mean, other than the funeral?"

"I-I..." Diego hesitates. "I-I blew up a-at him. Said things I shouldn't h-have...told him to..." Diego looks down, shame, regret, and guilt plain as day on his face. "I told him to k-k-kill himself..."

"Who?" asks Allison calmly.

"Klaus," Ben says. "Do you..." he looks at Diego sympathetically. "Do you know what happened afterward?"

"What? No. I... He seemed fine. I guess he laughed it off or forgot or something..."

"Nope." Ben looks down with a sigh. "He..." Ben stops. Should he tell them? Would they blame Diego?

...Was it even his story to tell?

No...he should. Klaus will never tell them unless Ben tells him, or they catch Klaus doing something similar. If they found out like that, it could be too late.

"He shattered the bottle, took a shard...and slit his wrists."

"Oh my god," gasps Vanya.

Allison covers her face with her hand.

"Wh-What?" Diego pales. "I..." Diego inhales. "I-I-I need to-" He spun around without finishing his sentence and left for Klaus.

* * *

"Klaus, what triggered it?" asks Five. "I think I know, but I need to be sure."

"The crowd. It was too loud, too many people. I might've been fine if there weren't so much noise, though," replies Klaus honestly. He's tired. Exhausted, mentally and physically.

"...Did this happen often?"

Klaus doesn't respond. "You know, it's funny. You guys have knife-throwing, teleporting, super-strength, get-whatever-the-hell-you-want powers. You think the guy who sees dead people doesn't have problems."

Five looks at him.

Klaus exhales. "I got into booze when I was thirteen. Right after you left."

Five winces.

"Fifteen, drugs. Ben died. Tried to...yeah, well, I did some stupid shit." Klaus laughs self-depreciatingly. "Every time I closed my eyes or fell asleep, I see these mangled bodies screaming at me. They might be saying something, maybe not, they're all shouting at the same time, so it's hard to tell."

Slowly, Five reaches and holds onto Klaus's far shoulder comfortingly.

"I thought you were dead, y'know."

"What?"

"When you came through the portal thing. I shouldn't be able to see you when I'm high, but I could always see Ben, so I thought maybe it runs in the family. I thought you were a ghost."

Five's blood runs cold. Unless if the ghost has visible injuries, Klaus can't tell a human from a ghost? What if a human had horrible injuries, would Klaus just walk by, thinking it was just another ghost?

What if he thought Ben was alive?

Five doesn't envy him.

Five tenses when he feels an unfamiliar weight on his shoulder. He turns his head to see that Klaus managed to fall asleep. Slowly, he relaxes.

Diego barges in. "Klaus- " he stops. "...Is sleeping?"

"Yeah," Five says quietly. "Let him sleep in tomorrow."

* * *

_I did not have much motivation for this, honestly. This is all I could squeeze out of me..._

**Please, leave a review. I promise that I will read, cherish, and consider _every single one_ with care.**

**_Question for the readers:_** _I'd like to ask the same question I did the last chapter, alongside this: If Five became a hitman, what nickname do you think he'd get?_

_P.S, unless if I outright say so, the questions I ask don't contain spoilers/don't affect the story (unless if I get a really good idea or something from an answer)._


	4. Chapter 4

Diego didn't leave Klaus.

He refused.

Five ended up leaving briefly to check up on Ben. He had carefully removed Klaus's body from his, rather than teleporting and letting his head slam against the floor.

"How is he?" asks Diego, his eyes not leaving Klaus. In a strangely intense way. He can't stop thinking about what he'd do when Klaus wakes up.

"Better," says Five, before shooting him a strange look. "Don't stare at him like that. You look like a creepy ex." Five sits down on Klaus's other side. "We decided that Ben and Klaus shouldn't be together for a while. Ben tends to forget he isn't a ghost around Klaus. They're too co-dependent." Five sighs. "Klaus forgets that Ben isn't the only one who gives a shit anymore."

Diego nods wordlessly.

Five frowns, observing the way Diego didn't notice him, the way the only thing Diego seemed to see was Klaus.

And Klaus wasn't even wearing a dress.

"Stop that," snaps Five, leaning over and clapping his hands loudly. "Jesus, what are you doing?"

"God, quit it!" yells Diego, slapping Five's hands.

"Shut...uupp," moans Klaus sleepily. "Gawww…" he yawns and passes out again.

Five and Diego share a look, and that was that.

* * *

After that, Klaus gets a break from trips out. The siblings all try to keep Ben and Klaus apart. Instead, Five begins going out alone. He can't grab as much as he could with Klaus by his side, so he takes extra trips every once in a while.

"Fuck,_ I don't want your shitty apple juice, woman!_" Five snaps in rough Italian. During his time at the Commission, he'd picked up a few languages. Italian wasn't his best, but he could get by. "All I want," Five fumes as he leaves, "is a half-decent cup of coffee."

Five had resisted the urge, he had gone for two months without it. But he couldn't fight it anymore.

He _needs_ his coffee. Even if it means interacting with people outside of his siblings.

"_If you wanted coffee, this isn't the place to be_," says some rando to Five, and all Five wants to do is space jump away, or tell this guy to fuck off. But if he did that, Allison would somehow find out, and he'd get chewed out. Allison always finds out.

Then, Five sees the expensive suit, the badass fedora, the lazily hidden gun, and that all too familiar look in the man's eye. This guy, he tries to hide it. But it's the same look he has, the same look Hazel and Cha-Cha had, the same look the Handler had.

This guy, he's a killer.

So, not a rando, then.

"No shit," he snaps, because he isn't afraid of _Allison_. Allison, who is now physically thirteen, and smaller than he is. He's a fifty-eight-year-old grown man, dammit. Well, maybe not _grown_... "Where should I go..." Five's going to make a guess, and he's going to regret it if he's wrong, "hitman?"

"Who are you, kid?" the man says sharply, switching to English, "Who do you serve?"

"Jesus."

The man scoffs. "What _Famiglia_, kid."

"I don't _serve_ a Famiglia, jackass." Five rolls his eyes. "And this kid knows twenty-five ways to kill you with his bare hands," Five hisses. He is _not _a child, dammit. He never was.

"Oh really?" The man says. "I'm Reborn, kid."

"Yep," Five says as he furrows his brow, nodding patronizingly. "I'm done, screw the coffee," he mutters as he leaves to the closest restroom, "I'm too old for this shit."

Five knows that the man followed him to the washroom, but he space-jumps as soon as he closes his stall.

He wonders how long the man waited.

* * *

Ben is healing. And his siblings try their best to help him.

They all make an effort to get Ben used to being alive, being touched, being spoken to. Klaus practically tackles him every chance he gets. Diego is always the one who has to detach Klaus from their brother, and although the vigilante always acts annoyed, everyone knows he secretly finds it cute (or at least amusing). Diego makes it a habit to ruffle Ben's hair every time they're in the same room. Five makes sure to greet Ben when they cross paths, and Allison starts conversations about something-or-other while sneaking in some casual touches. Vanya shyly asks Ben for hugs and offers to help him with whatever he's doing. Because Luther is awkward, most of the time he silently acknowledges Ben's presence. When he's feeling brave he'll start up a brief conversation with Ben before Diego drags him away for a spar.

Klaus is happy for Ben. He is, he really is. And he gets that Ben correlates spending time with Klaus to being _dead_, he gets it. He understands- it's not a good idea for Ben to be with Klaus.

Klaus _gets it_. He isn't an idiot, no matter how much he acts otherwise.

But he never claimed that he wasn't selfish.

Klaus wants Ben. He wants to talk to Ben, spend time with Ben, be with Ben. Even if they're just sitting in silence, or if Ben's angry, or if Ben hates him. He wants Ben. Klaus's life is change. Klaus is always changing, his life was never stable. When he was a kid, he never knew when he'd be hauled away for a mission, or for group training, or, eventually, that _damn mausoleum._ And when he was a teen, he never knew if he'd wake up at home, or at a stranger's place, or in a dumpster. And when he was a grown up, he never knew when he'd eat, if he'd eat, where he'd sleep, where he'd wake, _if_ he'd wake-

Klaus never knew anything. Everything was changing, everything came or went, and Klaus never knew when, or how, no matter what, Klaus was never in control. Nothing stayed.

Except- Except for Ben.

Ben was always there. No matter how high he was, no matter where he was, no matter what he did, no matter what happened, _Ben was always there_. He was always with Klaus.

Ben never left him. He was always there, in a way that no one else was.

Five was the first. While he and Klaus weren't the closest of siblings, Five was easy to be with if you just shut up for a moment. And sometimes, Klaus needed that, with all the _screaming, the taunting, the ghosts-_...Sometimes, Five was good to him. Then he left, just ran out the door, never came back.

Then, it was Allison left for L.A, didn't tell anyone. She just up and left, and nobody knew when, or why, or how, just that she did. Nobody had any idea, not even Luther.

Vanya tried her best, but she couldn't be there for him- she tried, she really did, it was all Klaus's fault, really. Although he wasn't as bad as Luther or Diego, he still didn't treat her as well as he should've. Klaus wasn't surprised when she eventually gave up. It still hurt, though.

Finally, it was Diego. Diego, Diego, Diego. Klaus knows that when he first started getting into drugs and booze, Diego would always check in to make sure he actually got home. And when he didn't, Diego would always be the one to go out and find him. And after Ben's funeral, after Klaus left, Diego would occasionally track him down, break into wherever he was living, just to make sure he wasn't dead or something. Tell him to get his shit together, then leave. Until, eventually, those visits would become more and more rare, until they stopped altogether.

And there was only Ben.

Only Ben.

And now, Klaus has his other six siblings.

_But he can't have Ben._

He misses his fun times with Ben.

Yeah, his other siblings are fine. Luther's a douchebag, but he's not as bad as before. Diego's still secretly a teddy bear and fun to tease (though, he has been acting a bit strange around Klaus lately). Allison's probably the most normal of them all at this point, and she's the unofficial peacekeeper, and he can have an entertaining conversation with her. Five's still an arrogant dick, but he's tolerable, and Vanya's a sweetheart who's fun to hang with-

But they aren't _Ben_.

They aren't Ben, who makes him feel happy, who makes him feel worthwhile, and accepted, and warm, and like he's at _home_, despite the fact that their "home" is an abandoned church that could probably collapse at any given moment-

And then Klaus figures it out.

And he _really _gets it.

Klaus misses Ben. But Klaus could hurt Ben, and, ultimately?

That's worse.

* * *

"Klaus," says Diego, lazily dropping beside his brother with a dull thud. "'Sup?"

Klaus glances at Diego with a '_what-the-fuck?'_ look on his face, because since when does Diego butcher his words? Or even ask that question, anyway? Does it matter? "I want myyyy Beeenn," he whines instead because that was a really random train of thought. He really does want his Ben. Oh well. When he does see his dear brother, he clings onto him like his life depends on it, so he manages to survive his Ben withdrawals.

Diego snorts. "Yeah, that tracks," he says, clasping Klaus's shoulder. "Trust me, I get it," Diego tells him honestly. He really does. To him, Ben's been dead for...for years. A bit over two decades. "Look," Diego starts, "it's only until we think he's adapted enough not to get...lost. It shouldn't be much longer until you can be doing- uh, whatever the hell you did with him before, okay?"

Klaus sighs. He gets it, but...well, he's a needy, whiney bastard. He wants a dose of Ben. "Yeah, I know, I know," Klaus huffs. "I'm just having some, er, Ben withdrawals, y' know."

Diego's lip twitches. "Yeah, I know." Then, it's quiet, and Diego begins to think. Should he apologize? Is it a good time? What would he apologize for? The whole 'got kidnapped, nobody noticed for 10 hours' fiasco, not believing him when Klaus, the person who sees dead people, said that he could see/conjure Ben? Or the funeral? Or leaving him and not bothering to keep in touch? Or the countless amount of things he should apologize for?

And, God, Klaus isn't even the only person he should apologize to. Vanya, damn, he was a complete asshole to her and Allison? For so many things. And Ben, damn, he was a douchebag as a teen, he always poked at Ben's powers and he knew that was a line he shouldn't cross- and he crossed it, so many times! And, though he might've deserved it, he was a dick to Luther.

Jesus, everyone had things to apologize for, except for Ben and Vanya and Klaus.

"Diego, I'm Ben-sick," Klaus moaned dramatically, "Give me ice cream."

"No way in hell," Diego deadpans.

A topic for another day, Diego thinks.

* * *

_Hey, guys! It's me! It's only been a little over a week since I last updated, but it still feels like forever! I've been busy, I visited some people during the weekend, had school, made arrangements for my birthday (it's on the 24th)! So, it's been pretty exciting._

_Uh, anyways, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Personally, I think the Five + Reborn scene was weak, so I may go back and rewrite that. (Who am I kidding, I'll probably rewrite the whole story tbh.)_

_I'll answer any questions I see...next chapter!_

_...sorry to bore you, I'll stop now (feedback is appreciated, feed it to mee~)_

**Please leave a review. I promise that I will read, cherish, and consider _every single one_ with care.**

_**Question for the readers:**_ _What jobs would you give the TUA characters? (e.g, boss, hitman, doctor, interrogator, thief, etc...). _


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: **_The things Klaus do may not make sense unless if you've read the comics._

* * *

It was supposed to be a fun, relaxing day off.

But no.

Nothing ever went right for them. There's no break for them. Good luck? What is that?

"Here! This is where the Flame Signatures came from!"

"They're just a bunch of kids. Easy catch."

Klaus ducks behind a pile of debris from the crumbling church the moment he sees the men in suits. Easy catch? They weren't fish!

Klaus needs to warn his siblings. But it'd be possible to get back inside at this point. Many more men had come out of their cars, they'd surely catch Klaus if he tried to go back. They're all armed with guns or knives. There are too many of them. Klaus can't fight them off on his own. Maybe with the help of the others, he could, however, seeing as they were all frail tiny children (other than Luther, who was a pretty big kid) and vastly outnumbered, it was highly unlikely.

Fuck, fuck, fuck. What could he do? What should he do? The men were beginning to spread and surround the church, apparently going for the ambush approach.

Shit.

He feels this warped sense being pushed through the water, and suddenly, Klaus isn't perched uncomfortably behind a pile of rubble, praying to god that nobody noticed him. No gravel digging uncomfortably into his skin. It feels like that moment you miss a step on the stairs. Klaus was suddenly inhaling involuntarily, much taller than he should have been, dropping things he shouldn't have been holding in the first place.

"Sir, you dropped your gun!" Someone who was beside him, one of the men in black, who startled Klaus because _when did he get so close!?_

"Uhm, what," Klaus blurts intelligently, in a voice that wasn't his. He realizes quickly (he's sharper than he looks!) that he must somehow be...uh, possessing someone. That's new.

"Boss, are you sure you're okay..?"

"Oh, yes. I am great. Peachy." He gives the other dude a thumbs up, slowly moving towards the church. "Yeah. I gotta go eat my dog, so...yeah."

"Wait, what!? Boss, they'll see you-"

"Well, I'm the boss, aren't I? Shut the fuck up, and lemme do my thing, man!" Klaus whines, running back to the church. He practically throws himself inside. "GUYS! WE HAVE A PROBLEM!" Suddenly, he's pinned to the ground and Luther's on top of him. "Oh, come _on_, Luther! Why is it _always_ you?" Klaus rolls his eyes.

"Who are you," demands Five, as he space-jumps next to him.

"Oh, c'mon, it's your brother, Klaus! The one who waxed his ass with chocolate pudding!"

"Oh god, that's him alright," confirms Diego, who appears randomly at random times, because he's Diego.

Klaus beams, nodding his head rapidly. "Yeah! I didn't know I could do this either!"

"So, what, you can possess people?"

"It doesn't matter," interjects Five, "because somebody found us."

Klaus sobers up slightly. "Yeah, uh, a crap ton. Surrounding the whole damn place." He grins. "Wait, I'll just tell them I killed you guys!" Klaus jumps up excitedly, vanishing out the door.

Five jumps up. "Wait-Klaus!" He groans, "Gah! That moron!"

* * *

"I killed them all," yells Klaus cheerfully as he runs out of the house.

One of the men yells. "Wait, you _killed _them? Boss, what were you thinking-!"

"Wait, the boss was acting strange earlier," says another- the one that Klaus spoke to earlier. "Boss, what are this mission's objectives?"

Klaus steps back. "Oh- how _dare_ you question me!? I am your _boss_-!"

"I apologize if you are the boss, but just answer the question!"

"I-," Klaus pauses. "To...kill them?"

The men instantly aim their guns at him. He puts his hands up. "They have a Mist!" One of them yells. "Get out of the Boss, you bastard!"

He has to play this off, he has to play this off. Klaus plasters on the most sinister smile he can- while trying to act as if he doesn't care at all, as if he has the upper hand. He relaxes his body as much as possible, tilts his head slightly. Mists are always in control. They think he's a Mist-a trained one- so he better act like it. Fake it 'til you make it.

Mists always have plans. They know what they're doing. There's always a trick, a facade.

He forces a chuckle. "Heh, you point those weapons at me? Do you honestly think that'll work?" He puts his hands down. "Your boss is already brain-dead. Go ahead. Shoot." Klaus trains his eyes on one of the soldiers. "You look like you'd be good as my next meat suit."

That particular soldier falters for a moment. "You're bluffing."

"I might be. I might not be. Either way, it doesn't matter." He grins. "Not to me, at least."

Klaus pauses. He swears that he saw a flash of blue, and he hopes. His eyes close, and he tries to grasp the feeling he had before. _There!_

This time he pays attention. As he feels suspended in water, he pays attention. He doesn't let himself be pushed by the current. He's seeing the whole situation now. He sees, in the core of everyone's body, a bright glowing flame, in any one of the colours of the rainbow. He grabs onto the first one, and he becomes that person.

He turns and shoots as many people as he can before he gets shot.

"_I_ _heard a rumour_," he hears "_that you all killed each other!_"

Gunshots. Lots of them. But his head was swimming. He couldn't focus. He couldn't grasp the 'water'. He stopped trying.

His eyes closed.

He felt the pull.

His eyes shot open, and his pain was gone. He was laying by a pile of rubble. He sat up quickly and bonked his head.

"Ouch!" someone hisses. Vanya. "Mm, that hurt..."

"Vanya?"

At the sound of her name, Vanya beams. "Klaus! Hey!" She pauses as the gunshots stop. "Ah, I think the others are done now," she says, smiling.

He blinks. "Yeah."

As the group gathers, surrounded by corpses, Luther speaks.

"So... What now?"

* * *

**A/N:** _Sorry that this one was so short... I've been away from home to deal with some important personal stuff, and I've also been somewhat preoccupied with my other stories. I hope you guys enjoyed!_

**Please leave a review. I promise I will read, cherish, and consider _every single one_ with care.**

_Thank you for reading my words!_


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